fairytailfanonfandomcom-20200222-history
The Invaders
Hunting For Clues Screams of terror. The crashing of crumbling buildings. Fires burning. Pleas for help. A look of pure hatred on his face as he slaughtered several high ranking officials. He would end it here. Everything would crumble and burn in these flames. "..son." The target was the castle. Hiding at the top, his so-called "Highness". With a splash of blood, he cut down several Exceed that crossed his path — as if they would be of any use here. They were next, anyway." "...ason." It wouldn't take long. Everything would be fixed with this. "JASON!" Jason snapped out of his dazed state, looking around slowly. "I'm sorry, what?" Iris tapped his shoulder; about to knock the living daylights out of him. "Come on then, if you're so willing to save that blue-haired bitch then nobody has the time for your little daydreams. Come on, I'll bash your head in, I swear on my mum if you don't hurry up." Jason let out a sigh. While he was certainly pleased not to have to remember any more of that, Iris' attitude was what was putting him off. "You do know you could have just stayed? This isn't an attitude we need here, Iris." Iris scowled, "Well, you wouldn't let me go rescue Viv by myself, and I'd be doing nothing if I stayed here, so if I have to suffer, then you do too. It's your fault, after all." Jason actually stopped, and the entire group stopped with him, curious. "You could have done nothing by yourself, Iris. All you would have done is run off, and on the offchance you actually found the Shadow Remnants, you would have made it back to the guild, of course, but it would have been what was left of you — sent back to us in a matchbox. Not one of us can take on the full might of the entire Shadow Remnants, so stop flattering yourself and focus on the task at hand." "Well, if I stayed back you wouldn't be able to stop me from running off and tearing that masked son of a bitch limb from limb. Ah, well, that was my loss, wasn't it?" She sighed and crossed her arms. "The sooner we get Viv back, the sooner I can be...me again. I don't like being this Iris..." "The fact that you're this Iris is no one's fault but your own." Jason was wondering what happened to the adorable ball of fluff that had interrupted his studies just this morning. Why was his Iris replaced by this? "The fact that I'm this Iris is that masked asshole's fault. Once I tear him limb from limb and get Viv back, I'll be fine. Understand that?" She snarled like...an actual wild animal. "I need Vivian with me. She was the one who saved me from hating this world, amongst the ruthlessness of humans, always looking down on me for just being a squirrel. She showed me the light; this world isn't all that bad with that special somebody by your side." Jason was a bit taken aback by this, and bent down on one knee, his eyes softening up. He wrapped his arm around Iris' neck, and shoulders, bringing her close. "I can understand how you feel, Iris. And, I can relate to your frustration. The Akatsuki Guild...having all of you has shaped my world in ways I wouldn't have thought possible years ago." He reached behind her head to scratch her ears, something he knew she enjoyed. "Which is why I cannot abandon a comrade when I know they are in trouble; and Gaikou needs us much more than Vivian does at the moment." He pushed her gently away, looking at her dead in the eyes. "That's why I need you, all of you, to help me save Gaikou now. And after this, rest assured our full attention will be turned to Vivian. Even if I am bleeding from the neck, and missing limbs, we will go her aid immediately after Gaikou. So please, stomach this and bear with me, Iris?" Iris nodded slightly, but doubtfully. While she did indeed appear optimistic, her mind was still drenched in darkness. She had to save Vivian, no matter what. "....Okay, okay. Okay-okay. Ooooooooooookaaaaaaaaaaay, oooooooookaaaaaaaaaaay." She stretched out those last words. "I will save Gaikou. I remember, I was the only one she was nice to. It would be mean to just let her die...." Jason smiled. "Thank you, Iris." He decided to reward her by stroking her tail, once again something she enjoyed. Iris' face suddenly turned a bright red- as she closed her eyes in pleasure, shaking her leg like a ...dog's?, before she immediately returned to her normal behaviour. "It's fine, it's fine. Just only do that when we're alone because I make myself look like a damn animal..." Jason chuckled. His Iris was slowly returning, if just a bit. He heard an impatient click, and turned to see Mary looking at him with a face of murder. Olivia let out a sigh. "Master, I think we should get a move on." She jerked her head in the direction of Mary. "We are dawdling, and timing is everything." There was something behind that sentence. Jason eyed Mary for a moment, and frowned. "Of course. We're nearly there anyway." Iris's ears suddenly perked up; as a faint ringing noise could be heard- naturally, only Iris herself could hear it. "....Yes, we...are." If by some sort of precognition, several flashes occured within her mind; was it the past? The future? All she realized was, it had Gaikou in them. Jason looked at Iris, concerned. "Iris, are you alright?" Iris nodded. "Yeah, I guess so." Ominously, she also stated, "But, you yourself won't be, very, very soon." Snapping back to her usual self, she stated, "I think I saw Gaikou die. This is very, very bad." Obviously. "...hold up, Iris." Jason's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, I won't be okay?" He was perplexed. "What are you seeing?" Olivia's own eyes narrowed at this, as if she was aware of something in Iris' words that no one else was. Iris's ears drooped down innocently as she sighed, "I don't know...but my squirrel-sense was tingling for a moment. Like something really, really bad is gonna happen...I don't know when or how, or why. But it's gonna happen. But I think you can avoid that fate." She was actually...serious? And not bitchy-serious. What a surprise. "I think a better question is when she gained the power to see the future." Mary frowned. "...Indeed." Jason seemed a bit put off by this, actually placing his forehead to Iris' to check her temperature. "Are you alright? You've never done this before." Iris's ears perked right up once more. "No, I don't think so. I think it's part of me being a natural squirrel. Like, I can see the future, but only when it concerns the guild members...on the plus side I think there's a half-price day at WcDonald's tomorrow." "I've been meaning to ask..." Olivia decided to cut this discussion short. "Where are we?" "Oh, that's right. You weren't with us before, but, this is the land where we fought Barakiel." Jason looked upon the area as if shaking a bitter memory. Vivian had nearly lost herself here... "I'm relatively sure it's the Council that has Gaikou, and since this is the first place we as a guild fought them off, this seems as good a place to start as any." Iris's ears perked up again. "This was where Viv became Viv...tra, right? Then maybe they could have used some hair strands or something here....Her senses multiplied as she began to sniff away. "You people also look, I know Viv's scent more than anyone!" "Then memorise it and save it for later." Jason held her back. "Barakiel was a member of the Council. What we are here for is to search for leads on Gaikou's location, Iris. Please, focus your attention on that." Iris pouted again. "Okay, okay. Hmm, was Gaikou here? I can't remember..." Suddenly, her senses intensified as she searched around, thinking that she found something. "Come over here, come over here!" She noticed a glowing stone lodged in the ground- one that had the same texture of the magic of the Rune Knights. The group followed, and Mary was the first to bend down, placing her hand on the stone. "What is this?" The Little Pale Child Iris tried to explain, "I don't know, but I feel like Gaikou's magical signature is in it...and a Rune Knight's. So it's a clue!" When did she develop such amazing tracking abilities? "Why do I feel like this sort of scenario with a group of people and their tracking animal has been done before?" Olivia asked, puzzled. "In one continuity it was done several times within that continuity's history." Jason seemed to understand what she was saying. "They were also cursed. If I recall, it began with the animal, always the animal." Everyone looked at Iris. "Don't call me an animal, you idiots!" She growled like...an animal. "Anyway, listen here. The stone lets out a signal we can follow." Jason scratched Iris' ears, and, swiftly, gouged the stone from the ground, leaving a small small crater. The artifact did not cease glowing, and he handed it to Iris. "We'll use your tracking abilities with this then, Iris." Iris' ears wiggled on the spot as the stone resonated with her magical power- hopping on all fours like...an animal, running off, leaving a streak of hazel behind her. "You're all too slow, so hurry up!" She called out, "gracefully" dodging anything in her path. The group quickly followed after her, and no one seemed to want to call Iris out on telling them not to call her an animal when she ran like she did. As they ran, however, something caught Jason's eye. A young girl, with short white hair, unconscious on the ground. "Iris, everyone, stop for a minute." Iris' body jerked to a halt; stopping in her tracks as she ran over to the small girl. "...Is she dead?" She poked the body with a stick. "...Helloooooooooooooo? Is anyone home?" She was tempted to roll her over. Iris felt an...odd magical signature emanating from the body. "Iris, don't do that." Jason admonished the squirrel, before bending down himself to look at the girl. He frowned. "She's alive, but unconscious." "What do we do?" Olivia questioned. "Leave her." Was Mary's automatic suggestion. "What else would we do?" "...Help her, obviously." Jason replied bluntly as gently prodded the girl on the shoulders, trying to make her stir. He succeeded where Iris hadn't, and her eyes began to flicker. They opened, and she slowly sat up, looking around at the lot of them, an expression akin to confusion on her face. Iris threw her hands up in glee. "Yay! That means I don't have to dig a grave!" She kept her distance, however, remaining a bit distant as she was wary. "Where....am I?" The girl's voice was soft, and now that she seemed to be growing more aware of her surroundings, including the people in front of her, a look of worry crossed her face. "How did I...get here?" "Oh dear..." Olivia placed a finger to her chin, concerned. "What if she has amnesia?" Iris began to think of a solution- a rather neat one, if one will. "Hmm, how about we ask all sorts of questions to try and jog her memory? I'll start. Can you see why kids enjoy cereal?" "Um...it's sweet?" The girl offered up this innocent answer. "Who are you all? How did I get here with you?" Jason sat down for a moment, so he was more eye level with the child. "I'm actually not sure how to explain that. We were walking by and found you, unconscious." "Do you have parents?" Mary asked quickly. "Anyone we can pawn you off to?" Iris was tempted to agree with Mary, but she stopped herself. "...Hmm, how about~" She paused momentarily, as the cymbal banging monkeys that composed her brain began to work. "How about you come with us for a while and see if any memories come up~?" "When you think about it, there's really nothing else to be done." Jason shrugged. "But I'm curious...do you remember how you got like this?" He gestured to the girl on the floor. "Anything at all?" "Um...my head hurts..." She winced as she tried to recall even something. "But...I remember people in white robes...and a cross..." Jason's eyes widened. "Rune Knights." Overlooking Vultures Iris' ears suddenly perked up. "...Moon...Nights? That's silly, there's always a moon in the night sky- oh wait, RUNE KNIGHTS! I suppose you got attacked, right...?" "Mhm..." The girl nodded pitifully. "I'm not even sure why...I didn't do anything wrong at all..." Olivia frowned, casting a gentle look at the child. "Master, it would appear the Council is at it again. What shall we do?" "Continue as planned." Jason replied, standing up. "However, we'll take the girl with us. One of us will simply have to protect her. We don't have the time to turn back now." Iris sheepishly pushed the girl towards Mary. "....Dibs on not taking her~" It was obvious that her delightfully playful side was showing, as her face looked like a three with a comma- just like a ...cat. Mary snarled. "Why shove the brat onto me? I have got no interest in playing babysitter." "I...I want to travel with Onii-chan." The child clung to Jason's robes, staring up at him with rather pleading eyes. "You'll keep me safe, won't you, Onii-chan?" Jason was rather surprised by this. "Of course. It won't be an issue at all." Olivia chuckled. "It would appear he has another fan." ---- From wherever she was, Wendy look up at the sky, as if bothered. "I sense a disturbance in the wavelengths..." ---- Iris yawned. "He has too many." She didn't really seem to care about it, however. "Let's pick up the speed~ Y'all are too slow!" Once again, she dashed off like a ...dog running after a frisbee. Jason bent down, offering the girl a chance to climb up onto his back. "We'll make better time this way." He explained to her confused expression, and she climbed on, clinging tightly. "Alright, everyone, following the squirrel." He dashed off, followed quickly by the rest. Iris' senses resonated with the stone that she had found- seemingly leaping over numerous tree trunks in order to reach her destination. By now, it didn't seem that she was actually watching where she was going. Iris Lavra was like a ...magpie, sort of. She loved shiny things. So using her natural instincts, she evaded every hazard while just focusing on the glowing stone- the brilliance of which intensified as she got closer and closer to the source. "So...what's your name, anyway?" Jason asked the girl as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Or has that been forgotten as well?" The girl breathed for a moment. "My name is Mina. Mommy named me Mina." "I see." Jason smiled for a moment as a vision of a orange-haired woman crossed his eyes. "Mina....that's a nice name." "Stop wasting time talking to the kid." Mary snapped at him. "Aren't we focusing on something?" Jason ignored her, and called up to Iris. "How's it going, Iris?" Iris turned around for a moment- "We're almost there, brace for impact in three...two...one-" Naturally, turning around while running wasn't the greatest idea as she ran into a tree face-first. "Ow...That's the third time that's happened." Everyone skidded to a stop as they caught up to Iris, Olivia bending down to help the girl up. "Are you alright, Iris? Don't over-do it." Iris rubbed her head. "I crash into trees a lot, don't I?" Truth be told she was like a driver from Joya- only running was her "specialty". "I'll try not to over do it. But we're almost there, so be wary!" "Onii-chan..." Mina clung to Jason's shoulder, whimpering. "I can feel bad things coming..." Mary frowned. "The only bad thing is that we're dawdling here." Jason sighed. "Olivia...." "Understood." Olivia then proceeded to punch Mary in the top of her head, causing the girl to rightfully snarl in anger. "Iris, do you sense anything ahead?" Jason inquired casually. "I know it's a bit much to jump to conclusions, but I have heard children often speak the truth more than anything else, so I suppose caution is necessary." Iris immediately stopped in her tracks- almost falling as she caught herself. "Whoa....!" Glancing down, Iris' eyes gazed upon the Magic Council building under the ravine. "...This one is completely different than the one in Hargeon. So in the past seven years they built more than one?" "Impossible..." Jason was horrified by this. "In seven years, they've expanded their reach out this far..." His eyes glinted, flashing blue for a moment. "It must be difficult, difficult indeed to enforce your laws from one lofty perch....so the vulture builds it's nests across the land now..." Mary, who had been quite irritated this entire time, was actually speechless for a moment. She could feel the anger emanating from Jason, and for once, did not want to say a thing. Iris's ears drooped. "I have a bad feeling about this....Like this is some sort of trap and we're about to fall into it. The stone was in plain sight...I hope nobody's taking advantage of me." Jason walked over to Iris, Mina still clinging to his back. "Do you want to stay back?" He cast a cold look down upon the building, not even looking at Iris as he spoke. Every cell in his body commanded him to destroy it. But Gaikou may be inside. He wasn't going to risk her. Iris crossed her arms and responded in a rather tsundere-ish manner- "No, I'm better than you, I can handle this! And that purple haired lady told me to stay strong no matter what happens, so I won't give up!" Jason let out a laugh devoid of mirth. "We'll see." He turned his head to Mary, and Olivia. "We don't have the time — and I lack the patience — for an actual invasion. We're storming this place. Any objections?" "Many, but I don't think now is the time." Olivia sighed. She really wished he had a plan of action. "Hell no!" Mary grinned. "The sooner we end this, the sooner we can get Onē-chan! I'll kill anyone that gets in our way." Jason looked at Iris. "You've never been much for plans either, so this suits you just fine, doesn't it Iris?" Iris' tail sprung up- stating, "While I've never been one for plans, an IQ test says I'm smarter than you~" Obviously she was joking, but still. "Hold on tight, Mina." Jason told her, as the the entire group began to slide down on the side of the ravine. "This'll be over quick." Mary grinned as she followed last. "I guess we're the invaders now." END